Why Is the Universe Expanding?

First, we will look briefly at some applicable biblical references. Then we will examine specific scientific evidence and compare two competing answers to this question.

At least eleven times, the Bible states that God “stretched out” or “stretches out” the heavens. [See Table 22.] For emphasis, important ideas are often repeated in the Bible. While we may have difficulty visualizing this stretching, we can be confident of its significance.

The Hebrew word for stretched is natah. It does not mean an explosion, a flinging out, or the type of stretching that encounters increasing resistance, as with a spring. Natah is more like the effortless reaching out of one’s hand.

“He ... stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent”1

Is 42:5

“... God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out”

Is 44:24

“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself”

Is 45:12

“It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands”

Is 48:13

“Surely My hand founded the earth and My right hand spread out the heavens.”

Is 51:13

“... the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth”

Jer 10:12

“He has stretched out the heavens”

Jer 51:15

“He stretched out the heavens”

Zech 12:1

“the Lord who stretches out the heavens”

The context of each of the above verses deals with creation. Although past and present tenses (stretched and stretches) are expressed in these English translations, Hebrew verbs do not generally convey past, present, or future. Translators must rely on context and other clues to determine verb tense.

Even if we knew the intended Hebrew tense, is the stretching from God’s perspective or man’s? The creation was completed in six days (Exodus 20:11), so from God’s perspective the heavens were stretched out during the creation week (in the past) perhaps on Day 4. However, from our perspective, redshifted light from extreme distances, a consequence of this past stretching, is reaching us now (in the present).